New York was Late.

It’s been five days back in Minnesota and let me tell you… it’s real awkward to write about the oddities of Mn when it all seems “normal” to me. Upon returning to Mn, I went straight to Mankato to visit my grandparents and some good friends from University. Grandpa lives in a cozy cottage on a good sized lake. He is 87 years old but lives like he is 27. Minnesotans are the Zimbabweans of America. We are known as very hard workers. Our parents raise us to be respectful, God fearing and never thinking of ourselves as too important to wash our own windows. There is such a buzz during a Minnesotan summer because everything turns green, the waters are high and the sun is shining. Farmers are on their tractors and planting seeds with the sunrise and keep going until sundown to feed this country.

 Brainerd, my hometown, is a humble little town that swells with city-dwellers in the summertime. They all escape to their “up-north” cabin, which is a little house on a lake that presents a comfortable atmosphere for relaxing, boating, laying out in the sun, playing in the sand and enjoying barbecues. Basically, their vacationland is our homeland, however, the wintertime presents freezing temperatures, frozen lakes and frozen roads which are less appealing to the city-dwellers.

This week has been one reunion after another with friends and family. So much has changed since I left – and it’s only been five months. I’ve met friends at beaches, coffee shops, gone out for supper, had sleepovers, and bon fires. Tonight we made campfire pizzas around the fire – which has gotta be one of my top ten favorite foods. This upcoming weekend is the Fourth of July! We will celebrate America’s Independence with grilling hotdogs and burgers, swimming in lakes and rivers, laughing with friends and watching fireworks. Little known fact about the most popular state: New York was late to the Independence party. When the Continental Congress declared independence from Britain, the official vote was 12 in favor, 0 against. Now, you might remember from American History class that there were 13 colonies. New York missed the boat on that one, and joined on July 19.

After the 4^th of July, it’s back to work and school for this girl. These are both happy things for me because I enjoy them. I can’t think about returning to work and school as “normal life” because each day we open a new present from God called life and that we cannot predict. I know that God is preparing me this year for things he wasn’t preparing me for last year, or the year before or the year before that. My life will play out in His perfect timing. Just one day at a time. It’s like training for a Marathon, which I have now begun! When it gets tough, I tell myself, one more step, one more step, one more step, one, more, step…

Old Glory doin' her thang